Social Media in a Corporate Context 2010 - Ben Lloyd, Echo Research

Echo Research UK 2010 General Election Ben Lloyd © echo

Echo’s research aims to link
Traditional , online and social media profiles of three main parties
Influence and role media has to play
Electorate’s use of media as a during the election
Issues of most importance to them
Likelihood to vote
© echo

1 About Echo Research © echo

About Echo Research Echo has supported 500 world-class clients: Winner of 70 Industry Awards, including Platinums & Golds for Integrated Research All Echo research complies with the MRS Code of Conduct, ESOMAR, CASRO & ISO 9001:2008 20-year track record in communication and reputation research globally - media content analysis, stakeholder evaluation and reputation measurement Offices in London, Paris, New York, Singapore Members of UN Global Compact 50 staff + 150 analysts

From Output to Outcome © echo THE ORGANISATION values, objectives, strategies ACTIVITIES messages sent by the organisation OUTPUT messages received by audience media analysis market research OUTCOME Audience choices / behaviors Advocacy / 3rd party endorsement Recruitment / retention Brand Equity/Brand Share Regulation Valuation THE AUDIENCE Values & expectations Driver Analysis OUTTAKE / IMPACT audience perceptions Market research

Publicity-based Research © echo © echo Echo shows IT plays major role in corporate ‘green’ initiatives

Thought Leadership
Echo Chambers (London, NY, Paris), Annual Echo Summit
White Papers (Web 2.0, Communications Research Wiki)
Published articles & Books:
The Application of Best Practices in Public Relations Measurement and Evaluation Systems” Public Relations Journal Volume 1 Number 1 October 2007
“ Exploring the Comparative Communications Effectiveness of Advertising and Public Relations: A Replication and Extension of Prior Experiments” Public Relations Journal
Global CSR series –2010 with UNGC & IBLF
© echo

Echo : 17 years of tracking Elections
1993: analysed Prime Minister John Major’s image in the media
1994: Worked for Independent Electoral Commission to track the first democratic elections in South Africa
Tracked the 1997, 2001 & 2005 General Elections in the UK
2007: Monitored social media vs traditional media during Presidential Elections in France
2009: Supported the Business for Diplomatic Action in assessing the US image abroad ahead of Obama victory
2010: Integrated survey of electoral opinion and influence combined with media and social media coverage.
© echo

2 2010 UK General Election © echo

2010 UK General Election
The Obama effect
Leaders’ debates
The rise and rise of social media
Voter apathy
The recession
MPs’ expenses
Changing political landscape – UKiP, BNP etc
© echo

...what happened next
LibDems leap up in the polls
Blip or something more long term....?
“ I agree with Nick” / #itsnickcleggsfault
Hung parliament / King maker
Print press go on the offensive against Nick Clegg – reactive rather than proactive
A test of Cameron’s credentials
Damage limitation for Brown
...change of tack for the second debate
© echo

3 The Research © echo

METHODOLOGY
Media
Tracked and analysed 1.4 million items of press, radio and TV coverage
Social Media
Over 61,000 social media comments from 6 April 2010
Electorate
Then we examined current impact through our nationwide telephone survey of representative sample of electorate among 1024 UK adults conducted 16 to 18 April
Objective
To consider likely outcomes by integrating the studies
© echo

4 Top Level Results © echo

© echo Source: Echo Sonar News and Social Media Coverage 6 th - 26 th April 2010 ___ ___ ___ Conservatives dominate news and social media ----- Social Media Online News ITV Debate SKY Debate Manifesto launches

Conservatives lead in setting agenda © echo Source: Echo Sonar News and Social Media Coverage 6 th - 26 th April 2010

BUT Conservatives attract most polarised coverage
Labour has least support in media, LibDems have least criticism, Conservatives have highest of both
Source: Echo Sonar News and Social Media 6 th - 26 th April 2010

TV leads all sources of influence Q: Which of the following sources of information do you refer to on the General Election, the candidates and issues? Echo Research Poll, Base 1024 adults nationwide 18 April 2010 Respondents

TV also tops list of most trusted sources Q: Which of these sources do you trust the most for providing reliable information? Echo Research Poll, Base 1024 adults nationwide 18 April 2010

BUT Labour Leader least favoured on TV Source: Echo Sonar News and Social Media 6 th - 26 th April 2010

5 The Case for Social Media © echo

Online shows greatest increase as source for Election information
Rapid growth of social media as a source of information points to its increasing importance
© echo Voters Reporting Increase in Usage % Respondents Answering

It’s The Economy, Stupid – Social Media best reflection of voter concerns © echo Source: Echo Sonar News and Social Media 6 th - 26 th April 2010 % SOV

Conservatives have Edge in Shaping Social Media Agenda
The Conservatives have dominant share of voice in UK social media , with over half of the issues included in the analysis being attributed to that party.
National media , including radio and TV, by comparison presents a significantly more balanced perspective with each party having stronger voice.
© echo Share of Voice in Social Media Share of Voice in National Media Source: Echo Sonar News and Social Media 6 th - 26 th April 2010

Facebook friends
Parties
Labour 31,379
Conservatives 70,588
Liberal Democrats 70,873
Leaders
Gordon Brown N/A
David Cameron 31,511
Nick Clegg 47,803
© echo

Is TV losing elections for Labour?
Labour is third party of choice: 20% Cons, 20% LibDem, 19% Labour balance being ‘other party’ or undecided
TV is most trusted and influential medium where Labour is rapidly losing ground
37% say that television is more important than the last election, especially among the 18-24 year olds
47% of the electorate are turning to the internet for their sources of information and 48% say that it is more important than in the last Elections in 2005
More men turn to online content than women.
© echo

Two-Horse Race Becomes Three Q: If the General Election were tomorrow, which party would you vote for? Echo Research Poll, Base 1024 adults nationwide 18 April 2010 % Respondents

What is the role of social media?
Issues gaining greatest prominence on social media are more closely aligned with national sentiments than those in mainstream media
Social media ranks particularly highly among the young 18-24 year olds (42%), and more among males than females (23% vs. 16%)
To date, Conservatives appear to have a closer understanding of mood of the country and seem to be shaping election agenda…but not the most favourable profile
With up to a quarter undecided/no preference stated, getting people to vote via social media could hold key to election victory.
© echo

So who wins?
Leaders’ debates have reinforced the importance and trustworthiness of TV in an election campaign
Social media is being used like never before – Facebook and Twitter are good barometers of sentiment and key issues among the electorate
Voters will turn to web content and social media as a source of information – and that cannot be ignored
BUT – trust levels are low... so what is it’s role? Sharing content, motivating and galvanising opinion due to its two-way dialogue?
Social media is a key element to a successful campaign – but perhaps not the game-changer – yet
Where’s the value – parties finding out more about electorate or electorate finding out more about the parties?
...and what happens after the election?
© echo

“ Nick Clegg donned the Obama change mantle - and stole the U.K.'s first televised campaign debate. There’s a new kid on the political block in Britain after today’s debate.” thedailybeast.com 16/4/10 “ While many can agree that Nick Clegg performed well. My question is this. Does he have the charisma, the authority and the personality to lead Great Britain? Would he look like Mr ordinary along side Barack Obama?” bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/ 16/4/10 “ It was interesting to see Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg was the leader featuring highest in the twitter trending topics. It was also interesting to see “I agree with Nick” as a trending topic – not because everyone on twitter did agree with Nick, but because Gordon said the phrase a number of times.” blog.myspace.com/marcnobbs 16/4/10 ...if the Liberal Democrats are -- as they appear to be - on the edge of serious political power, it will be worth taking a closer look at what some of them actually believe. http://corner.nationalreview.com 22/4 Gordon Brown (Prime Minister) and Cameron tended to hear a keyword or phrase and then launch into an obviously prepared speech on the topic. http://technorati.com/ 20/4 “ While the stunned Conservative and Labour leaders no doubt hope this spike in popularity will fade in the coming weeks, the Lib Dems’ policies may well prove in tune with top priority popular issues” nakedcapitalism.com 19/4/10 “ Nick Clegg I think benefits from being the new kid on the block and with novelty comes curiosity. But also with novelty will come now increased scrutiny.” guardian.co.uk/politics/blog 19/4/10 Right now, on Twitter, there's a mad parody movement to blame everything in the world on Nick Clegg... Let’s see if that explodes anyone’s brains www.indecisionforever.com 23/4 The even bigger story is that Labour comes third but Gordon Brown still clings to the Premiership. And I'm not talking football. If that happened I can foresee marches on Downing Street. And I'll happily be at the front! iaindale.blogspot.com/ 24/4

© echo “ The even bigger story is that Labour comes third but Gordon Brown still clings to the Premiership. And I'm not talking football. If that happened I can foresee marches on Downing Street. And I'll happily be at the front!” iaindale.blogspot.com/ 24/4

© echo “ It was interesting to see Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg was the leader featuring highest in the twitter trending topics. It was also interesting to see “I agree with Nick” as a trending topic – not because everyone on twitter did agree with Nick, but because Gordon said the phrase a number of times.” blog.myspace.com/marcnobbs 16/4/10

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Social Media in a Corporate Context 2010 - Ben Lloyd, Echo Research

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